There is no legal standard for severance — absent a contract, policy, or WARN violation, no US law sets an amount. Here are the patterns people commonly report, what moves the number, and when the law does put pay on the table.

There is no standard severance amount, because in most of the United States there is no legal right to severance at all. The U.S. Department of Labor puts it plainly: the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require severance pay — it is "a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee." What people call "standard" is really a set of observed market patterns, and the pattern most commonly described for non-executive roles is one to two weeks of pay per year of service, with executives often negotiating multiples of that. Those are norms, not entitlements — an employer offering less is usually not breaking any law, and one offering more is not being generous against a legal baseline. The exceptions are contractual severance you already hold, an employer policy or plan, and notice-law situations where WARN-style statutes put real money on the table. What applies to you depends on your situation, and these patterns can change.

Is there a legal standard for severance?

Generally, no — no US law sets a standard severance amount, and in most of the country there is no legal right to severance at all. The U.S. Department of Labor is explicit that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require severance pay, describing it instead as a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee. In practice, severance comes from one of four places, and only the last three of them carry legal force. Market practice is the most common source and the least binding — it is simply what the employer decides to offer and what you agree to accept. A contract, an employer policy or plan, and notice statutes such as the federal WARN Act are the three that can create an actual entitlement, and where one of those exists it generally sets a floor that a market norm does not. Which of the four applies to you depends on your own documents. The four sources people usually find:

Market practice. Most severance is voluntary — offered to soften a departure and, almost always, to obtain a release of legal claims. The amount is whatever the employer decides to offer and you agree to accept.
A contract. An offer letter, employment agreement, executive severance plan, or change-of-control agreement may promise a specific formula. Where one exists, that formula — not any market norm — is generally your floor.
An employer policy or plan. A written severance policy applied to a group can function as an ERISA plan, and the DOL notes that its Employee Benefits Security Administration may assist workers denied benefits under an employer-sponsored severance plan. Past consistent practice can also matter, depending on the facts.
Notice statutes. The federal WARN Act and several state mini-WARN laws generally require pay when required notice of a mass layoff was not given — see below.

What patterns do people commonly report?

The pattern most commonly described for individual contributors and middle managers is one to two weeks of pay per year of service, frequently with a floor of a few weeks and a cap somewhere between three and six months. Senior roles typically run higher, because executives generally negotiate severance up front, when they have the most room to ask, rather than after a termination. In a group layoff, employers tend to announce a uniform formula rather than bargain case by case, though modest individual enhancements are commonly granted on request. Packages also often extend beyond cash — an employer-paid COBRA period, a prorated bonus, outplacement services, an extended option-exercise window, or agreed reference language — and those items can be worth more than an extra week of pay. None of this is required, and practice varies widely by industry, company size, and circumstances. The patterns people most often describe:

One to two weeks of pay per year of service — the usual reference point for individual contributors and middle managers.
Higher multiples for senior roles. Several months to a year or more of salary, sometimes with bonus and equity treatment.
Group layoffs often use a published formula — a base number of weeks plus a per-year-of-service amount, which keeps the OWBPA group disclosures clean. Uniform does not always mean final.
Beyond cash. Employer-paid COBRA, prorated bonus, outplacement, extended option-exercise windows, agreed reference language.

Because these are observed norms rather than rules, many people treat a first offer as a data point, not a verdict. Comparing it against your years of service, your contract documents, and what peers in the same layoff received tends to be more informative than any general benchmark.

What moves the number?

The variable that moves the number most is usually the bargaining position created by potential claims: an employer buying a release from someone with a plausible discrimination, retaliation, or whistleblower claim is often willing to pay well above the formula. After that, tenure and seniority move it mechanically, since per-year formulas reward length of service and seniority tends to raise the per-week multiple. The reason for the departure matters too — position eliminations and reductions in force typically come with packages, while terminations framed as performance-based often come with less or nothing, though even there offers appear when the employer wants certainty. Asking matters as well, since severance is negotiable more often than not. Timing shapes the outcome, because employers close out layoff cycles against budgets and deadlines. What actually applies depends on your situation. The factors people most often see move the number:

Leverage from potential claims. Frequently the single biggest variable — an employer buying a release from someone with a plausible claim often pays more than the formula.
Tenure and seniority. Per-year formulas mechanically reward tenure; seniority tends to raise the per-week multiple.
The reason for the departure. Position eliminations and RIFs typically come with packages; performance-framed terminations often come with less or nothing.
What you ask for. The worst common outcome of a professional, written ask is the original offer. A script people sometimes adapt:

"Given my [N] years of service and the scope of the release, I am asking for [N] additional weeks of severance, employer-paid COBRA through [date], and agreed reference language. I can sign within the consideration period once these are confirmed."
Timing and optics. Asks made within the consideration window, in writing, tend to fare better than day-one demands.

When does WARN or state law add pay?

Notice laws generally add pay when required notice of a mass layoff was not given, rather than by mandating severance itself. Per the U.S. Department of Labor, employers of 100 or more generally must give 60 days' notice of a covered mass layoff or plant closing, and where that notice was not given, affected workers are generally owed up to 60 days of back pay and benefits. That is notice-violation pay rather than severance — but in a fast layoff it can function like a floor, and severance offers sometimes quietly include it. New Jersey is the notable exception, generally requiring severance itself for covered mass layoffs. Other mini-WARN states usually lower thresholds or lengthen notice instead. Some employers pay out the notice period rather than have workers serve it, and how that interacts with severance depends on the statute and the facts. Your state may differ. Where the law does put pay on the table:

Federal WARN. Per the U.S. Department of Labor, employers of 100 or more generally must give 60 days' notice of a covered mass layoff or plant closing; where notice was not given, affected workers are generally owed up to 60 days of back pay and benefits.
New Jersey. The NJ WARN Act, as amended, generally requires severance of one week per year of service for covered mass layoffs — the notable state where severance itself is mandated.
Other mini-WARN states. California, New York, Illinois, and others generally lower thresholds or lengthen notice rather than mandate severance; a violation still generally converts into pay for the missed notice period.
Pay in lieu of notice. Whether a paid-out notice period satisfies a WARN obligation or stacks with severance depends on the statute and the facts.

What should you document?

The papers worth gathering are the ones that show what you were promised and what you were offered, because the gap between those two is where most severance questions get settled. Your offer letter, employment agreement, and any severance plan or policy establish whether a contractual formula exists — and where one does, that formula, not a market norm, is generally your floor. The written offer and every revision, kept with dates, shows how the number moved and when the consideration period started. Your years of service, salary, accrued PTO, bonus terms, and equity vesting schedule are the inputs to any formula, and a surprising share of a package often sits outside base pay. In a group layoff, the WARN notice and its date, together with the announced group formula, show whether your offer matches what everyone else received. What people commonly keep a copy of:

Your offer letter, employment agreement, and any severance plan or policy
The written severance offer and every revision, with dates
Your years of service, salary, accrued PTO, bonus terms, and equity vesting schedule
Any WARN notice and its date, if you are part of a group layoff
What the announced group formula was, if one was published

When should you talk to a lawyer?

Many people get a professional read on the number when the offer sits well below their contract or the announced group formula, when they suspect a claim the release would extinguish, when they are 40 or older in a group layoff, or when notice looks shorter than a WARN statute requires. An employment attorney generally cannot conjure a right to severance where none exists — but where a contract, an employer policy or plan, or a notice violation is in play, the "standard" amount can turn out to be considerably more than the first offer. There is also a non-lawyer route in some cases: the Department of Labor notes that its Employee Benefits Security Administration may assist workers denied benefits under an employer-sponsored severance plan. It generally helps to raise the question inside the consideration period rather than after signing. Whether any of this is true for you depends on the documents and the facts.

Official sources

U.S. Department of Labor — Severance Pay
U.S. Department of Labor — WARN Act Compliance Assistance
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — Q&A: Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements

How Much Severance Is Standard?